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June 2, 2004

Jitney Rolls on to the Hamptons, Wirelessly

The Hampton Jitney gets a cell data uplink to hook its passengers up via Wi-Fi (reg. required): In a short piece by your editor in Thursday's New York Times, I describe the Wi-RAN (Rolling Area Network) developed by CEDX and Best Mobile Computing, and in trials with the Hampton Jitney. The Jitney is the high-class way to commute between your summer home or just plain Long Island residence and Manhattan. Some people commute--and I kid you not--every day, clocking in 3 or 4 hours roundtrip or more.

In that environment, as on trains and planes, people don't have just quiet time to contemplate but empty time that's worth filling. Some of the Jitney coaches also have electrical outlets, meaning that you don't have to worry about discharging your battery, either.

While the service runs today at 100 Kbps, the New York metro area will certainly be one of the first to see higher-speed cell offerings or even other forms of mobile wireless (cue Craig McCaw's entrance) allowing the service to expand its speed over time.

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A graduate student in urban planning from NYU asks: Why can't the MTA put Wi-Fi on its LIRR and Metro-North commuter trains? It could be a win-win for passengers as well as the cash-strapped MTA: "Market studies repeatedly indicate that... Read More